Some of the success Kyle Hall experienced in his first season on the Syracuse men’s soccer team can be attributed to his father, Steven Hall.

Hall’s father played soccer in college and was determined to raise a son that achieved the same feat.

Mission accomplished.

Hall, a sophomore transfer, has been one of the breakout players this season for the Orange, currently ranking second on the team in scoring with 13 points, one behind Hansen Woodruff.

Hall and SU host DePaul on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Syracuse Soccer Stadium. It is the Orange’s (6-8-1, 1-8-1 Big East) season finale.

At an early age Steven moved his family from Trinidad and Tobago to Canada in order for Kyle to have more opportunities.

Steven had played for his high school team in Trinidad and also continued playing in college. After college, he played in the Caribbean as well as in Trinidad.

‘I believe soccer is a team sport, you need everyone to win,’ Steven said. ‘That was very important for (Kyle) to learn, that no one person can do it. Unless you play as a team you can’t do it.’

Steven coached his son from the time Kyle was 5 years old until he was 8. Even as Hall got older, his father may not have been the head coach of his soccer teams, but he was always the one trying to get Hall to play his best.

‘He would be at every game I had telling me what I need to improve on,’ Hall said. ‘He would be the one there yelling at me.’

Hall’s mother, Christine Hall, credits Hall’s dad for always being there before and after the games or practices. No matter how far the trip was, Steven always tried to make it.

‘He put a lot of time into taking him to practices all over Ontario or where ever it would be,’ Christine said.

Away from the soccer field, whether it is the park or back in Trinidad, Hall and his dad spent a lot of time together working on certain aspects of his game.

‘He used to take me to that park all the time and work on my game, telling me what I’m doing wrong,’ Hall said. ‘He would stay hours with me. When we’d go back to Trinidad he would take me to the beach and make me run in the sand to make me faster. He did a lot of things.’

With all the work done with his dad, Hall was good enough to play college soccer after graduating from high school at the Don Mills College Institute in Toronto. After a year spent at the University at Toronto, Hall transferred to Syracuse.

SU captain Richard Asante also comes from Canada, which has made the transition for Hall a little easier. Asante said the pair’s Canadian connection always gives them something to talk about.

Steven was excited to hear that Hall had chosen Syracuse. With Kyle’s aspirations of playing in Europe someday, his dad said playing in Syracuse will definitely not hurt that opportunity.

‘He has always stepped up his game, and playing in the Big East, he will play in front of more scouts,’ Steven said.

Christine, as well as the entire family, hopes that playing in Syracuse will help Hall accomplish his lifelong dream of playing professionally.

‘(Soccer is) growing in the United States,’ Christine said. ‘In Canada it’s not as big. At Syracuse he can achieve one of his goals, which is playing professionally either here or in Europe.’

For now the Syracuse midfielder/forward is content with just trying to get better each day and helping the Orange improve.

As Kyle’s sophomore season comes to an end Saturday, Steven and Christine will be in attendance for the game. Steven finds it funny that now the roles are reversed, from when his family first moved to Canada and he was teaching Kyle soccer for the first time.

‘I first got him involved in soccer to keep him occupied,’ Steven said. ‘But eventually he was taking me to the games.’

Published on October 19, 2006 at 12:00 pm